TEXAS CHESS REPORTER

2010 Texas Chess Team

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Organizers concerned seating may not be ready in timeBy Victor Yaward, Chess Reporter

Arlington, Texas – April 1, 2011 - (CRN) – Organizers for Red River Shootout IX, the chess match between Oklahoma and Texas, are in serious negotiations to move this year’s event to Arlington, Texas, site of the NFL Championship less than two months ago. “We expect a blockbuster turnout for this year’s match.” Says Rob Jones, Texas Chess Team Captain. “The stadium has so much to offer that we can’t get in Davis, Oklahoma.”

The advantages for holding the match in Arlington are obvious. A giant video board over the playing site offers an unparalleled view of the action and close-ups of the players. There is plenty of room in the stands, the end zones, and on the outside oval track for fans of all ages to frolic without disturbing the players. Numerous concession stands and restrooms are easily accessible to accommodate every need. The Astroturf cushions and muffles even the clumsiest player’s footsteps.

The Honorable Dr. Robert Cluck, Arlington’s Mayor, expressed great optimism about the boost such a match will bring to the local economy. “It’s the slow season right now in Arlington. Our stadium’s vendors have been laying people off, left and right. I’ve seen photos of those chess players, especially the ones from Southwest Oklahoma and it is obvious they appreciate a great meal.” Rob Jones backed this up by pointing out the Davis site has far fewer eating facilities. “Afterward, we can go to Bobby Valentine’s for the annual Victory Dinner. This is a great place to celebrate, no matter which side wins.”

However, Frank Berry, the most successful Team Captain in Oklahoma chess history, expressed some concerns. “Having the match in Arlington does have possibilities,” he said, “however, we are the home team this year and there is something un-American about playing on the road when you’re the home team. I mean, everyone knows the Texans do it year-after-year because they do not have any sense. However, we’ll give this idea strong consideration as we want the best possible playing conditions.”

Mr. Berry’s biggest concern is stadium seating. “The stadium was sued recently because the seats weren’t ready in time for a recent football game.” He continued with, “I’ve talked with Rob (Jones) and if the seats are not ready by April 1st we’ve agreed to make an announcement in Chess Life and hold the event in Davis. Oklahoma’s chess players and fans look forward to this every year and not having enough seats just won’t do.”

Other opinions differ among noted chess celebrities. Clemente Renden, Texas Chess Association President, looks forward to a match on Texas soil. “It only makes sense,” he explained, “because we most definitely are the defending Red River and World Champions and deserve hosting this South of the Red River. Heck, if the move is made I might even play!” Tom Braunlich, a former Oklahoma State Chess Champion and amateur statistician advocates for keeping the match in Oklahoma. “Statistically, Texas has a larger population,” he hypothesized, “however, the proportion of truly serious chess players is much greater in Oklahoma.” Recent analysis by Raymond Griffin on the Oklahoma Chess Forum supports Mr. Braunlich’s claim. “Only one in fifty Texas Chess players are serious about the game. By contrast, at least ten percent of Oklahoma’s chess players are really serious. Besides, we are the home team this year and our players should not be disappointed because of a few more seats in Texas.”

Ironically, the solution to Arlington’s seating problem could come from, of all places, Oklahoma. Professor Carl Latino, a noted engineer at Oklahoma State University and holder of sixteen patents for the armored suit worn by Ironman, has developed a new biodegradable stadium chair that installs securely in just five minutes. It is extremely lightweight, yet each chair can safely seat the largest chess player. “I would hate to see this match held in Texas,” commented Dr. Latino, “since many of our players, especially those from Southwest Oklahoma, tend to get lost when traveling over fifty miles. However, I’ll do whatever is necessary for the greater good.”

As all serious chess players know, the REAL Red River Shootout, the annual team match between the most fanatical chess players in Oklahoma and Texas, is scheduled for Sunday, April 24th. Texas leads the series 6-2 despite playing on the road year after year after year. The final decision about location, registration and other important information will be published in Chess Life and on-line on several web sites sponsored by The Oklahoma Chess Forum, The Oklahoma Chess Foundation, The Oklahoma Chess Association, The Texas Chess Association, and http://texaschessreporter.blogspot.com/.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Toughest Chess Player in Texhoma to be CrownedBy Victor Yaward, Chess Reporter

Lawton, OK - December 28, 2010. The toughest and most serious chess players in Oklahoma and Texas are packing and will soon be on the road. Their destination, Fort Sill, Oklahoma and the site of the first annual Chessmus Texhoma Championship, an ultimate chess playing experience the likes of which has never been seen before in Oklahoma and Texas. Even the North American Open, an annual endurance contest held in Stillwater, is likely to be eclipsed by the eleven or more rounds being scheduled for December 29th at Fort Sill's RecPlex Recreation Center on Sheridan Road. Registration is from 11 to 11:30 with Round One starting at 11:50.

"We don't care how many players Texas sends." says Frank Berry, the best Oklahoma Chess Team Captain in history. "Our players are tough. So tough, in fact, I'm sure one of our players will walk away with the prize."

Except for the time control (Game in ten minutes with two second increments after each move) many of the details, including pairings and entrance fee, will be determined only after all players are registered. "This is a zero profit and revenue neutral tournament." says Mike Tubbs, Club Secretary for SERIOUS CHESS PLAYERS, one of the US Chess Federation's newest affiliates. "All costs, to include rating fees will be divided equally among the players. By the way, Mr. Chess Reporter, please remind everyone a valid picture ID is required to get on post. Also, US Chess Federation and Oklahoma Chess Forum memberships are required."

When asked about allowing special one day memberships, as often happens in clubs with less serious players, Chief Organizer "Yogi" replied, "We can accommodate those wanting to join the Oklahoma Chess Forum for one day, if they can survive the initiation. However, this is a sanctioned tournament for serious chess players only. Real chess players don't play for just one day if they really want people to take them seriously."

Advance Registration is available and greatly appreciated by emailing the Chief Tournament Director, Jim Hollingsworth at texaschessteam@yahoo.com.

This is a tournament for SERIOUS chess players who are going to have a lot of fun!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Stillwater, OK – July 21, 2010 (CRN) - The Texas Precision Chess Squad (TPCS), an elite posse consisting of the most serious chess players on the World and Red River Champion Texas Chess Team, travels to Stillwater this weekend to play in the 65th Oklahoma Open, a FIDE championship event named in honor of former USCF President Jerry Spann (deceased). “We don’t have much of a budget since the annual entrance fee for the Red River Shootout is only five bucks.” said Tom Crane, Texas Chess Team Chief Executive Officer. “So, we’re only sending our most serious players.”

The annual Jerry Spann Memorial, sponsored by Oklahoma’s premier chess organization, the Oklahoma Chess Foundation (OCF), is a five round championship over two days. International time controls, to meet FIDE rating requirements, are required so players can earn international rankings. “Although everyone knows Texas is the chess capital of North America,” boasts Rob Jones, Texas Chess Team Captain, “no place does international chess better than Stillwater. We’re very pleased our players have an opportunity to face Oklahoma’s most serious and internationally ranked chess players.”

Frank Berry, International Arbiter and Oklahoma Chess Team Captain, is Chief Director. “It’s always exciting when we play the ‘Texicans’, especially when they’ve been so lucky the last couple of years.” Mr. Berry, of course, was referring to the Real Red River Shootout, the annual team match between the most fanatical chess players in Oklahoma and Texas. Texas leads the series 6-2 despite playing on the road seven times.

TPCS members will be available for autographs and media interviews between rounds. By special arrangement, the Famous Traveling Trophy, the Real Red River Shootout’s official icon, will be on display. OCF organizers have hired the Pinkerton Detective agency to provide security for trophy as well as visiting Texas dignitaries.

Friday, May 28, 2010

The 29th North American FIDE Open, an internationally sanctioned event, kicks off today in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Frank Berry, International Arbiter, is Chief Director. He and his volunteer staff are also displaying the most impressive collection of chess memorabilia and posters ever to be seen in history. Among the exhibits is the Famous Traveling Trophy, the official icon for the Real Red River Shootout, the annual match between the most fanatical chess players in Oklahoma and Texas. Texas leads the series 6-2 despite playing on the road seven times. Members of the World and Red River Champion Texas Chess Team are present and available to sign autographs between rounds.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Davis, Oklahoma (CRN) - This past Sunday, 61 of the most fanatical chess players and tournament directors in Oklahoma and Texas battled in the largest team match in Southwestern U.S. chess history. By the time the smoke on the 30 boards cleared, Texas had rolled to a decisive 38-22 victory, its sixth dual championship in eight years, despite playing on the road every year except the second. Texas, boosted by seven chess experts under the age of sixteen from the Dallas Chess Club, started out slowly allowing Oklahoma to even the score. But after the score was knotted at 2-2, Texas methodically began to pull away. By halftime Texas had built an insurmountable 19-11 lead.

The decisive point came midway in the second half when Rafael Llanos thwarted a normally devastating attack by Carl Latino, a Stillwater engineering professor. With the outcome set at 31-17 Texas continued to roll. The final 16 point margin is the largest in series history and marks the second year in a row Texas has won by double digits.

Seven Dallas Chess Club juniors, all chess experts and some with world youth titles, held their own against a slate of Oklahoma's toughest players. Although their group as a whole came up short 6-1/2 to 7-1/2, it was clear they felt little intimidation from their older and more experienced opponents. US Chess Federation President Jim Berry, a longtime member of the Oklahoma Chess Team, remarked, "Chess starts exactly where these kids are today. They represent the brightest future of American chess."

Afterward, Texan Wayne Xiong made an interesting observation about how the economy and Texas Chess Team are intertwined, "The fact that this year we are hitting an all-time high of 60 players might suggest that a nice rebound of the economy is just ahead of us. For those folks who have lost a big chunk of their lifetime savings in the last couple of years, and are desperately looking for some lead indicators of the financial market to make some important trading decisions, it would be a good idea for them to come to the Red River Shootout to get some inspiration. If some of the brainy chess people in the room develop a new theory called Red River Shootout effect: in a year that Texas wins the Red River Shootout, the stock market will go up or down when Oklahoma wins, it might be more accurate than the out-of-date Super-bowl effect."

International Arbiter Frank Berry, Oklahoma Chess Team Captain, directed the 60 player event. He was assisted by Rob Jones, Texas Chess Team Captain. The victory also makes Rob Jones the winningest team captain in match history with a 2-0 record. Because of the match's newly discovered ties to the economy, details of next April's Red River Shootout IX will most likely be be published in financial magazines as well as the Oklahoma Chess Quarterly, on line in the Oklahoma Chess Form, on the Texas Chess Association web site, and on the famous chess reporter's (Victor Yaward) blog site: http://texaschessreporter.blogspot.com.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Davis, OK (CRN) - More than 60 of the most fanatical chess players in Oklahoma and Texas are on the road and heading towards today's team match in Davis, Oklahoma. Texas leads the series 5-2 despite playing on the road six times.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Waco, Texas (CRN) - Citing exhaustion from a grueling training camp schedule and a Texas heat wave, a leading member of the Texas Chess Team has pulled up stakes leaving behind a stunned coaching staff. The player's name has not been released, but Robert Jones, the team's chief diplomatic liaison for Third World Chess States (TWCS), confirmed the Chess Reporter's questions saying, "We lost a good one this time. This will make things much tougher as our weaker players will have to play up at least one board. Texans are tough but that may be too much to ask when facing a fired up Oklahoma team."

Tom Crane, chief match organizer along with Oklahoma's Frank Berry, disclosed the team is considering other training camp sites for 2011. "Waco's a nice site, but we don't want to limit ourselves by locking out other possibilities. The Dallas Cowboys use the Oxnard (California) facilities and we owe it to our players and fans to look seriously at all options." The Honorable Virginia DuPuy, Waco City Mayor, expressed surprise ("Texas has a chess team?") and vowed to do everything necessary to keep chess jobs in Waco. John DeVries, Training Camp Director and a Waco native, expressed relief when he learned about the mayor's support.

As all serious chess players know, the REAL Red River Shootout is a series of matches between the most fanatical chess players in Oklahoma and Texas. Both teams are hard at work in two training camps (Oklahoma is practicing at a huge Walter goat ranch). Texas leads the series 5-2 despite playing on the road six out of seven contests. Publicity and results for the match are in the Oklahoma Chess Quarterly, on line in the Oklahoma Chess Form, on the Texas Chess Association web site, and on the famous chess reporter's (Victor Yaward) blog site: http://texaschessreporter.blogspot.com.